Ski binding



Oct 5, 1948. J. H. SCH'IEDER SKI BINDING 2 Sheets-Sheet l Zslmentor Filed July 31, I944 J. H. SCHIEDER Oct. 5, 1948. J. SCHIEDER 2,450,526

SKI- BINDING Filed July 31, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 R E) 3nnentor H. SCHIEDER Gitorneg Patented Oct. 5, 1948 UNHTED STATES ATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

My invention relates to skis and has for its general object to provide an improved means for connecting and securing the ski to the foot of the wearer.

As is well known skis are attachments formed of relativel long and narrow lengths of solid wood upturned at the forward end attached to each boot of the wearer to facilitate travel over snow, and while generall used in travelling over hilly country covered with fairly hard snow, are much used in sport for fast downhill runs, the speed-obtainable on steep slopes covered With hard snow being comparable to that of a toboggan but the control of the wearer bein much greater. Obstacles may be readily avoided by sharp turns at speed, long jumps down sudden drops in the slope taken and the skis easily carried over rocks or again uphill to repeat the run, making ski running a favorite winter sport in many countries.

The means used to secure the skis to the boot is known as the binding and my invention particularly relates to the provision of a novel binding affording greater control in maneuvering on the skis and greater ease and. convenience to the user.

An object of the invention is to provide a ski binding comprising a plate adapted to fasten to the skiers boot at both heel and toe but connected to the ski only at the toe end, resilient means being provided acting to hold the plate in a desired relation to the surface of the A further object of the invention is to provide a ski binding having means by which a footplate may be readily fitted to boots of varying length or width and of different styles of last.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ski binding which may be readily attached to standard skis with very little trouble and without requiring any alteration of the skis.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a ski binding construction providing an improved degree of control of the skis enabling better skiing to be enjoyed while lessening the muscular effort involved in skiing.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a ski binding enabling the characteristics of the binding to be adjusted to obtain the best performance from the skis for different types of work such as cross country running, or distance ju p g.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a ski binding which will reduce the danger of damage to the skier in taking falls. Still further features of the invention will hereinafter appear in the following description and accompanying drawings.

Other objects, advantagesand features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detail description, and the appended claim.

A preferred form of the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings but it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not in any way limited by this illustrative embodiment but only as defined by the scope of the appended claim.

In the drawings in which identical numerals indicate identical parts:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the ski binding of my invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the parts shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1, but showing the foot supporting means rotated about its point of connection to the ski to a vertical position, part of the supporting means being broken away.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary detail showing the connecting means for the foot supporting plate from the opposite side to that shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a cross section on the line 55 of Figure 2 and drawn to a larger scale.

In the drawings the numeral iii indicates the weight carrying portion of a ski, this part is of greater cross section than the forward and rearward portions which are lightened by working down the Wood from a central spine, but at approximately at the central part of the ski upon which the wearers weight is carried the wood is left full section affording adequate material for the attachment of the ski fastening.

According to my invention the ski fastening comprise an anchor member H which may be stamped out of sheet metal to provide a forwardly extending bracing part Hi attached by screws iii to the ski body and vertically arranged walls 18 extending at their lower edges over the edges of the ski body and being screwed thereto by screws 20. The vertical walls 88 provide ears 22 one of which is provided with a square aperture 24 while the opposite ear is provided co-axially with a round aperture 26. A. spindle 28 with a head 36 and a quare shoulder 32 fitting in square hole 24 is mounted in one ear 22. The part Hi extends upwardly from the ski. body and deflects snow and prevents snow packing under the foot plate, to prevent efiicient operation thereof. The other end of spindle 28 is screw threaded and supported in an internally threaded plug 34 fitting snugly in hole 26 which is screwed upon the spindle until the head 36 abuts the outer surface of the ear 22. The exterior surface of plug 34 is preferably furnished with one or more axially aligned groove 38 for a purpose to be later described.

Bearing elements 48 and 42 are mounted. at each end of the spindle, by central bores therein. The element 42 comprises a bearing surface 44 of diameter equal to the bearing surface 44' of element 40, and is also furnished with a peripheral flange 46 of greater diameter than the bearing surface abutting the inner face of ear 22 and the element 42 is bored out at this end to-accommodate plug 34. Radially arrangedbores 48 through the flange 46 of element 42 are equally spaced around its circumference.

A footplate 50 is formed with a housing 52 at the toe end, for instance by rolling the toe end into tubular form and i pivotally connected to the ski through the medium of the removable spindle 28 and bearing element-and anchor member l2.

The 'footplate is resiliently held against movement away from the ski by means of a coiled spring 54 surrounding the spindle 2-8 and properly positioned within the housing 52 by the bearingelements '40 and 42 which are provided with reduced portions 56 fitting Within 'the spring. The reduced portion 56 of the bearing element 42 is provided with a recess in its periphery which i engaged by one end 58 of the spring while the other end 60 of the spring is received in'a slot 62 running in from the edge of the housing at the side opposite to that in which bearing element 42 is positioned.

The tension given to spring 54- should normally be such that when the ski with binding mounted thereon is lifted by the heel end of the foot plate, the latter will not separate more than about one inch from the upper surface of the ski, but this tension may be increased somewhat for ski jump- The tension of the spring 54 is adjusted by winding up the spring by rotating bearing element 42 by any suitable tool, such as a small wrench having a cylindrical peg at one end of the proper diameter to fit the bores 48 in the flange 46, the handle of the tool being swung toward the heel plate. A double ended pin 64 is used after adjustment to hold bearing element 42 in adjusted position by inserting one endof pin 64 in a bore 48. Pin 64 is provided with one'end long enough to pass through the bores in the flange and into the grooves 38 in plug 34, and an end not long enough to pass completely through bores 48. A peripherally extending flange 66 separates the two ends and serves to hold the pin in place by engaging under a raised lip A formed on the abutting edge of the bracing element I 4 of the anchor. The short end of the pin is used when adjusting the tension of the spring to hold the bearing element against slacking back while taking 'a new purchase with the adjusting tool while the long end i used when the desired tension is secured to lock the bearing member in position and to lock plug 34 against slacking 'back on the spindle 28.

While the foot plate 50 could be furnished as a single unit to fit different sizes of boot I find it more practical to arrange the plate so that it may be adjusted to boots of different length and widths.

' The foot plate comprises a toe plate-68 fitted with separately adjustable toe pieces 10, and a heel plate 12 carrying a heel piece 14. Both toe and heel pieces are slotted as indicated at 16 to receive straps to be buckled around the toe and instep respectively.

The toe and heel plate overlap for a considerable length as will beseen from the dotted line 18 indicating the end of the toe piece in Fig. 2.

The toe and heel plate .lie in contact with one another with the heel plate uppermost and are parallel sided and of equal width. Lugs 80 at the front of the sides of the heel plate turned down to embrace the toe plate, and lugs 82 at the heel end of the sides of the toe plate turned up to embrace the heel plate assure rigidity against side play of the toe and heel plates. The toe and .heel plates are clamped together between the head of a square shouldered tubular bolt 84 by engaging in a registering pair of a plurality of equally spaced square apertures 86 in the toe plate and holes 88 in the heel plate, and a wide headed screw 99 taking into thethreaded bore of the bolt 84.

The adjustment of the binding to boots of different width is eilected by forming the toe clips 10 as separate pieces comprising an upstanding portion 92 and a base plate 94. Base plate '94 is slotted while toe plate 68 is provided with holes 96. By means of a tubular bolt and screw arrangement similar to that described for the heel plate the toe clamps may be brought to the position and clamped to securely hold any width of boot. The contacting under surface of the toe plate and upper surface of the toe clip base plate are preferably knurled to prevent the surfaces from slipping relatively to each other. A protective metal plate 98 is preferably secured by small nails or screws to the upper face of the ski below the foot plate 50.

In assembling the binding on the ski and assuming that the skis have not been furnished with the standard type of binding the procedure is as follows: Spring 54 is placed in housing 52 with end engaged in slot 62. Bearing member 40 is then slipped into the housing at the end furnished with slot 62 and will serve to hold the spring'in the'housing. Bearing member 42 is then slipped into the opposite end of the housing with the end 58 of the spring extending into an axial groove on the reduced end thereof. It will be noted that the peripheral bearing surfaces 44 of members 40 and 42 are a close fit in the housing 52, the axial bore in these member is also a close fit for the spindle 28. The bores in the bearing members are then lined-up withthe holes in the ears 22 and the spindle inserted as previously described resulting ina smoothly turning connection free from'side play. I

The ski binding of myinvention provides the skier with improved control over his skis, with more freedom of action andincrease leverage in applying foot action, thus minimising fatigue and enables the skier, if he so wishes, to dispense with specially designed footgear.

The design of the binding secures rigidity where necessary and flexibility when desirable and provides an important improvement-in the art of ski design.

Various changes and modifications in details of construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and I claim, as part of my invention, any such changes or modifica tions as fall within thescope of the a pended claim.

I claim:

A ski binding comprising: anchorage means adapted to be secured to the body of a ski, and providing an ear extending upwardly from each side of the ski; a forwardly extending bracing part extending from substantially the top of said ears to the ski body; a spindle extending between and removably secured in ears in spaced relation to said ski body; bearing elements positioned on said spindle and abutting the inwardly facing surfaces of said ears; one of said bearing elements having a cylindrical bearing surface and a peripheral flange of greater diameter than said bearing surface and provided with a plurality of openings; a foot plate having the toe end formed to provide a cylindrical housing mounted on and guided for swinging movement by said bearing elements and inwardly facing surface'of one of said ears and the side of the peripheral flange on one of said bearing elements; a coiled spring surrounding said spindle and within the cylindrical housing, one end of said spring engaging in and bearing against said housing and the other end of said spring engaging with bearing element having a peripheral flange; a removable pin 6 adapted to be placed in said openings and engaged by the wall thereof; and an abutment formed on said anchorage means and acting to hold said peripheral flange when said spring has been placed under a desired tension, said bracing part tending to deflect and prevent snow from packing underneath said foot plate.

JOHN HENRY SCHIEDER.

I REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

